Floor module for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A floor module for a vehicle, with a floor plate, already cut to size and ready for installation, which is integrally connected to at least one mounting rail.

Numerous vehicle manufacturers nowadays market so-called multi-vehicles. This means that, in the case of estate cars for example, systems of rails are built into the floor, which makes it possible to exchange and remove seats and other modules, so that vehicles can be used for a variety of purposes.

At present, they work according to the following principle: first of all, rails (steel profiles or aluminium profiles) are bolted or bonded on in the floor area of the vehicle. Floor plates made of plastics material or wood, which have to be secured against displacement, are arranged next to or between the rails. It is appropriate, in this connection, for the rails to occupy the entire length of the passenger compartment.

If the rails are shorter than the passenger compartment, the adjacent floor area must consist of a large plate with appropriate cut-outs for the rails punched out, milled out or prepared in some other way. In cases like this, handling problems occur because a large floor plate with long cut-outs for rails is relatively unstable.

In both cases, it is difficult to arrange a floor system that is optically and mechanically satisfactory at the outer sides of the rails, because the corresponding parts become very narrow.

The problem of the invention consists in providing a floor module in which the difficulties in handling the floor plates used so far no longer arise and the installation of the floor plate and rails is simplified, thus taking less time.

This problem is solved, in accordance with the invention, by a floor module for a vehicle, with a floor plate, already cut to size and ready for installation, which is integrally connected to at least one mounting rail. The floor plate is preferably bonded to the at least one mounting rail, which may be a seat runner for mounting seats or the like.

It can be provided for the floor plate to be in one piece before being connected to the at least one mounting rail. In this case, the floor plate can have at least one slot-shaped cut-out to receive the at least one mounting rail.

Alternatively, the floor plate can consist of a plurality of elements joined together into one part by a mounting rail arranged between them in each case.

The mounting rails can be straight or curved. They can have flange-like projections for receiving an adjacent edge portion of the floor plate or an edge portion of an adjacent element thereof. The mounting rail(s) can be arranged in the transverse and/or longitudinal directions.

The floor plate can be provided, on its top side, with a floor covering, especially with velour, plastics material (thermoplastic polyolefin film, PVC or PP coating), paper impregnated with phenolic resin (screen printing), a wood material plate, a coated plate, a genuine wood coating, or a metal plate with or without embossing.

The floor plate can consist of wood material (plywood, OSB board, particle board, fibre board), plastics material or metal.

The mounting rails can be profiled and may consist of metal or plastics material, and they may consist of one or a multi-part profile.

The floor plate and mounting rail(s) are preferably bonded with an elastic adhesive. The floor plate and mounting rail(s) can be bonded with a single or two-package adhesive system.

The floor plate can be provided, on its underside, with an absorbing layer or lamination, especially made of wood, wood material, plastics material or plastics foam, wood fibre board, natural fibre board or combinations thereof (e.g. non-woven composite board).

It can be provided that electric wiring, sockets, empty tubes or other supply or installation items are installed in or on the floor plate, absorbing layer or lamination.

The invention also relates to a vehicle with a floor module of the invention. Here, it can be provided that the floor module is attached to the vehicle via the mounting rail(s). In particular, the floor module can be bolted or bonded to the vehicle at the mounting rail(s), especially to the floor panel.

The invention will now be explained by means of various embodiments, reference being made to a drawing in which

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view floor module of the invention (schematically) with mounting rails integrated;

FIG. 2 shows a variant of the floor module according to FIG. 1 with mounting rails passing right through;

FIG. 3 shows part of a cross-section through a floor module of the invention in the region of a mounting rail in the installed state;

FIG. 4 shows a view in accordance with FIG. 3 for a second embodiment; and

FIG. 5 shows a view in accordance with FIG. 3 for a third embodiment.

The invention is based on the idea of producing, before installation, a complete floor module ready for installation, with mounting rails or seat runners bonded in, said floor module being made from or with the floor plates or sunken floors to be fitted into a vehicle, so that the mounting rails can serve as a stabiliser for the entire floor module and are, moreover, suitable for a lifting tool as an installation aid. With this solution, it is also possible stably to cover very narrow parts in the edge portions, such as the entry areas.

Since, in the process of bonding to the mounting rails, the floor plate becomes water-tight vis-à-vis other materials even in the area of transition from the mounting rails to other materials, neither moisture nor dirt can penetrate, which is important for avoiding corrosion in the region of the floor panel of the vehicle.

The ready-to-install floor module of the invention makes substantial savings in manufacturing times possible. Floor modules of the invention can be used in any kind of motor vehicle (passenger cars, buses, commercial vehicles . . . ), and also in railway vehicles and aircraft.

The entire module is preferably attached via the mount for the mounting rails in and on the vehicle, which is necessary in any case.

It goes without saying that the floor module of the invention can be used not only in the construction of new vehicles but also in repairing or retrofitting vehicles.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, two floor modules of the invention are shown schematically, FIG. 1 illustrating a single-part floor plate 1 cut to size ready for installation, in which a row of seat runners or mounting rails 2 have been integrated into slots 11 fitted in the floor plate in advance. as will be explained in more detail, the mounting rails 2 are bonded integrally with the floor plate 1. The embodiment according to FIG. 2 differs from this in that the floor plate consists of a series of elements 1.1, 1.2 . . . 1.5, each of which is integrally connected together by mounting rails 2 arranged between them, so that a floor module in accordance with the invention is formed.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section view through a floor module of the invention in the region of a mounting rail in the state when installed in a vehicle. The floor plate 1 in this case is covered with a floor covering 4 on its upper side, such as a carpet, and is provided on its underside with an absorbing backing layer of foamed material 6, with which the floor module rests on a floor panel 8 of the vehicle. Covering profiles 12 are clamped and adhered to lateral edge portions 10 of a slot 11 built into the floor plate and are for their part bonded to the mounting rail 2 (single or two-package adhesive 14). Disposed between the covering profiles 12 is a brush seal 16 covering the mounting rail 2.

The covering profiles 12 have flange-like projections 12 a, 12 b which, together with the high-strength adhesive bond between the floor plate and the covering profiles, on the one hand, and between the covering profiles and the mounting rail, on the other hand, provides a one-piece, integral and high-strength connection between the components of the floor module, so that the latter can be handled as a unit and, after insertion into the vehicle concerned, can be firmly connected to the vehicle by means of adhesive bonds between the mounting rails 2 and the floor panel 8. For the purposes of the invention, the covering profiles should be regarded as a part of the entire mounting rail 2, since the combination into a complete floor material is created in this way (“multi-part” mounting rail).

FIG. 4 shows astructure corresponding to FIG. 3, though here, in the region of the contact at the face surface, an adhesive pad 18 is provided between the covering profiles 12 and the floor plate 1; this enables the covering profiles 12 to have spacer members 12 c, which ensure that there is a space between the face edge of the floor plate 1 and the opposite surface of the covering profile 12.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment similar to FIGS. 3 and 4, though the mounting rail 2, which consisted of steel in FIGS. 3 and 4, is made of aluminium here and is designed as a single part. As FIG. 5 shows, the mounting rail 2 in this case is bonded directly to the face surfaces of the edge portions 10 of the slot in the floor plate 1, and the ready-to-install floor module is connected (bonded) to the floor panel 8 of the vehicle via the mounting rail 2.

A further advantage of the floor module of the invention is that any unevenness in the region of the floor panel is levelled out, so that no warping of the seat runners can occur, which can otherwise easily lead to the seats becoming jammed.

List of Reference Numerals

-   Floor plate -   1.1, 1.2 . . . 1.5 Elements of 1 -   2 Mounting rail -   4 Floor covering -   6 Backing layer of foamed material -   8 Floor panel -   10 Edge portion (of 1) -   12 Covering profile -   12 a,b Flange-like projections -   12 c Spacer member -   14 Adhesive -   16 Brush seal -   18 Adhesive pad 

1. A floor module for a vehicle, comprising: a floor plate, cut to size and ready for installation, which is integrally connected to at least one mounting rail.
 2. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate is bonded to the at least one mounting rail.
 3. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail is a seat runner for mounting seats.
 4. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate is in one piece before being connected to the at least one mounting rail.
 5. The floor module as claimed in claim 4, wherein the floor plate has at least one slot-shaped cut-out to receive the at least one mounting rail.
 6. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate consists of a plurality of elements, joined together into one part by the at least one mounting rail arranged between them.
 7. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail is straight or curved.
 8. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail has flange-like projections for receiving an adjacent edge portion of the floor plate or an adjacent element thereof.
 9. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail is in the transverse and/or longitudinal directions.
 10. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail is profiled and consists of metal or plastics material.
 11. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting rail consists of one or a multi-part profile.
 12. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate is provided, on its top side, with a floor covering.
 13. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate consists of material selected from the group consisting of wood, plywood, OSB board, particle board, fibre board, plastics material and metal.
 14. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate and the at least one mounting rail are bonded with an elastic adhesive.
 15. The floor module as claimed in claim 14, wherein the adhesive is a single or two-package adhesive system.
 16. The floor module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor plate is provided, on its underside, with an absorbing layer or lamination.
 17. The floor module as claimed in claim 16, wherein electric wiring, sockets, empty tubes or other supply or installation items are integrated in or on the floor plate or the absorbing layer or lamination.
 18. A vehicle with a floor module comprising: a floor module comprising a floor plate, cut to size and ready for installation, which is integrally connected to at least one mounting rail.
 19. The vehicle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the floor module is attached to the vehicle via at least one mounting rail.
 20. The vehicle as claimed in claim 19, wherein the floor module is bolted or bonded to the vehicle at the at least one mounting rail.
 21. The floor module as claimed in claim 12, wherein the floor covering is selected from a group consisting of velour, plastics material, paper impregnated with phenolic resin, a wood material plate, a coated plate, a genuine wood coating, a metal plate with embossing and a metal plate without embossing.
 22. The floor module as claimed in claim 21, wherein the plastic material is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic polyolefin film, PVC and PP coating.
 23. The floor module as claimed in claim 16, wherein the absorbing layer or lamination is selected from a group consisting of wood, wood material, plastics material, plastics foam, wood fiber board, natural fiber board, non-woven composite board and combinations thereof.
 24. The vehicle of claim 20, wherein the floor module is bolted or bonded to a floor panel of the vehicle via the at least one mounting rail. 